I don't think it's logical to assume that because SOME comuter science programs are bad and totally misdirected, that means ALL computer science majors are nothing more than the equivalent of informations systems janitorial workers in training. Not that janitors are a bad thing. We need 'em. Apropriately, they should not be considered engineers, but contrary to popular belief, some people that are NOT engineers lead happy, productive, self-actualized lives.
Let's be realistic here. I'm in a good computer science program (true, it's still getting some of its bearings), and I take classes right alongside this so-called academic aryian nation of engineers, and will continue to do so up to graduation. I perform just as well or better than many of my peers. Where our paths diverge is, appropriately, the electrical engineering aspect. Believe it or not, I don't WANT to be an electrical engineer. I want to develop software. I want to have a good understanding of the theory of information. I want a rich, rounded education, with arts, sciences, and the humanities.
No, I'm not this drooling troglodyte stereotype of a Comp Sci major that spends half his day playing Quake and the other half taking classes like James Bond Film Theory. And no, I'm also not an engineer -- but that's not what I want to be. Am I a scientist? Probably not. But this is all semantics anyways. (Tell me again, how did we go from arguing semantics to assuming Computer Science was for pumping out a race of sub-human idiot MSCE's?) Call it Computer Theory, call it Bit-Basket-Weaving, call it whatever you want, and I'm still happy and confident with the academic path that I've chosen. So stuff your insecurity-driven condescension in your pocket protector.:-P
BIG MISTAKE on the part of Microsoft. One of the reasons that people DON'T migrate to Linux for despite its stability is the fact that it won't run Windows applications that don't have a viable Linux alternative. Now lack of a good Office suite and a budget to retrain everyone for Linux isn't even an issue. Microsoft has delegated their own operating system to nothing more than a buggy process for Linux to run until it has it's own software counterpart.
>Most nice-looking GUI apps now require you to be >running Gnome or KDE, and I personally don't care >to run either. WindowMaker can be built with GNOME and KDE support (./configure --enable-kde --enable-gnome), and run the majority of the aps just fine. I've found very few that break in wmaker. >GnomeICU, for instance, starts up the Gnome panel >when you run it ! And it won't run at all if >Gnome is not installed. As it was already mentioned, you can run it with the -a flag which frees it from the need of the panel. >There must be a root menu in the lower left corner >There must be a task list along the bottom edge of the screen >There must be an X in the upper right to close the window As much as I'm getting a little tired of most GUI's interfaces borrowing from each other, with very little fresh ideas, let's give credit where credit is due. Some of the ideas are pretty good. Now I'm no a Start Menu freak, but some ideas like standard dialogue layouts, symbols, etc...are the result of user testing, and trial and error. THey just didn't pull these features out of their ass and declare it as the defacto standard. Some features are good because they've stood the test of dumb users and succeeded. Linux X wm's and DE gui's, with the exception of a few, borrow from these features, because they work, and because the programming community doesn't have the 'benefit' of dumb users--yet. Now if you want to make a user's head explode, put them in WindowMaker or AfterStep for a day. Watch their mouse cursor gravitate towards the bottom of the screen, in hopes a start menu will appear. Then try to explain the difference between a dock and a clip, and give up after an hour. It's kinda of sad really. I was one of those people for a couple days, but fortunately I stuck around and found out that truly different interfaces can make one more adaptable to various platforms...and I've never looked back since.
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I don't think it's logical to assume that because SOME comuter science programs are bad and totally misdirected, that means ALL computer science majors are nothing more than the equivalent of informations systems janitorial workers in training. Not that janitors are a bad thing. We need 'em. Apropriately, they should not be considered engineers, but contrary to popular belief, some people that are NOT engineers lead happy, productive, self-actualized lives.
:-P
Let's be realistic here. I'm in a good computer science program (true, it's still getting some of its bearings), and I take classes right alongside this so-called academic aryian nation of engineers, and will continue to do so up to graduation. I perform just as well or better than many of my peers. Where our paths diverge is, appropriately, the electrical engineering aspect. Believe it or not, I don't WANT to be an electrical engineer. I want to develop software. I want to have a good understanding of the theory of information. I want a rich, rounded education, with arts, sciences, and the humanities.
No, I'm not this drooling troglodyte stereotype of a Comp Sci major that spends half his day playing Quake and the other half taking classes like James Bond Film Theory. And no, I'm also not an engineer -- but that's not what I want to be. Am I a scientist? Probably not. But this is all semantics anyways. (Tell me again, how did we go from arguing semantics to assuming Computer Science was for pumping out a race of sub-human idiot MSCE's?) Call it Computer Theory, call it Bit-Basket-Weaving, call it whatever you want, and I'm still happy and confident with the academic path that I've chosen. So stuff your insecurity-driven condescension in your pocket protector.
BIG MISTAKE on the part of Microsoft. One of the reasons that people DON'T migrate to Linux for despite its stability is the fact that it won't run Windows applications that don't have a viable Linux alternative. Now lack of a good Office suite and a budget to retrain everyone for Linux isn't even an issue. Microsoft has delegated their own operating system to nothing more than a buggy process for Linux to run until it has it's own software counterpart.
>Most nice-looking GUI apps now require you to be >running Gnome or KDE, and I personally don't care >to run either. WindowMaker can be built with GNOME and KDE support (./configure --enable-kde --enable-gnome), and run the majority of the aps just fine. I've found very few that break in wmaker. >GnomeICU, for instance, starts up the Gnome panel >when you run it ! And it won't run at all if >Gnome is not installed. As it was already mentioned, you can run it with the -a flag which frees it from the need of the panel. >There must be a root menu in the lower left corner >There must be a task list along the bottom edge of the screen >There must be an X in the upper right to close the window As much as I'm getting a little tired of most GUI's interfaces borrowing from each other, with very little fresh ideas, let's give credit where credit is due. Some of the ideas are pretty good. Now I'm no a Start Menu freak, but some ideas like standard dialogue layouts, symbols, etc...are the result of user testing, and trial and error. THey just didn't pull these features out of their ass and declare it as the defacto standard. Some features are good because they've stood the test of dumb users and succeeded. Linux X wm's and DE gui's, with the exception of a few, borrow from these features, because they work, and because the programming community doesn't have the 'benefit' of dumb users--yet. Now if you want to make a user's head explode, put them in WindowMaker or AfterStep for a day. Watch their mouse cursor gravitate towards the bottom of the screen, in hopes a start menu will appear. Then try to explain the difference between a dock and a clip, and give up after an hour. It's kinda of sad really. I was one of those people for a couple days, but fortunately I stuck around and found out that truly different interfaces can make one more adaptable to various platforms...and I've never looked back since.